Golf tee inserting tool

ABSTRACT

The tool has a body forming an elongate handle which can be held in the hand with a spike 2 projecting downwards for making a hole in the ground. A pair of upwardly-inclined limbs form a tee holder 3 at the front end of the handle, between which a tee 30 may be held with the cup 31 supported on the limbs and the stem 32 projecting at an angle to the spike 2 for insertion into the hole. The rear face of the handle may further be formed with a hole into which the stem of a tee can be frictionally engaged to provide a convenient place to store a tee when the tool is not in use.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to tool for inserting a golf tee into theground.

BACKGROUND

[0002] The game of golf is extremely popular and is played in allweather conditions. Golf is usually played on a grassed surface. Duringthe course of a game a player frequently uses their thumb to push aplastic tee into the ground at the precise point when teeing off at thestart of a hole, and the tee is used to support the ball ready to behit. In dry weather the ground can become very hard making it difficultto insert the tee, and the same problems can arise in very cold weatherwhen the ground is frozen. As a result, players can end up with a verypainful thumb, and the tee may bend making it useless.

[0003] The present invention seeks to provide a new and inventive formof tool to ease the task of inserting golf tees, particularly on hardground.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The present invention proposes a golf tee inserting tool whichincludes a spike element for making a hole in the ground for receivingthe tee, and means for releasably holding the tee.

[0005] A golf tee generally has a stem which is inserted into the groundand a cup for receiving the ball. In a preferred form of the tool, thetee is releasably held with its stem projecting from the tool so thatthe tee can be inserted into the hole made by the tool before the tee isreleased.

[0006] The tool preferably has a pair of limbs which extend on oppositesides of the stem and support the underside of the cup. The limbs arepreferably positioned such that the stem projects at an angle to thespike element.

[0007] In a preferred form of the tool the said limbs project from ahandle portion by which the tool may be held to push the spike elementinto the ground. Whilst the handle could take various forms it ispreferably elongate. The spike element preferably projects transverselyfrom the handle, and the limbs preferably extend beyond one end of thehandle. With such an arrangement it is convenient to hold the tee byplacing the thumb on the cup whilst holding the handle. When the tee isinserted into the hole it is then simply released by removing the thumbfrom the cup.

[0008] In preferred form of the tool the spike element is pivotallysecured to the handle such that the element can be pivoted into a recessformed in the handle. The spike element can thus be safely stowed in thehandle when the tool is not in use. In addition, the use of the tool issimplified if the spike element pivots away from the tee-holding limbs.The handle may also advantageously include a storage compartment forreceiving a tee so that a tee can be stored therein when the tool is notin use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The following description and the accompanying drawings referredto therein are included by way of non-limiting example in order toillustrate how the invention may be put into practice. In the drawings:

[0010]FIG. 1 is a general view of a golf tee inserting tool inaccordance with the invention;

[0011]FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 are plan, side and bottom elevations of the toolin a stowed configuration;

[0012]FIG. 5 is a side view of the tool being held ready for use; and

[0013] FIGS. 6 to 11 are further side views of the tool showing variousstages in a typical use of the tool.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Referring firstly to the general view of FIG. 1, the tool can beheld in the left or right hand. The tool has a handle 1, which may be ofwood or plastic for example, and a metal spike 2 which projectstransversely from the handle.

[0015] The handle 1 is elongate with a substantially rectangularcross-section and is formed with a tee holder 3 at the front end. Thespike 2 is mounted at the approximate centre of the handle to projectfrom its bottom face 4. As can be seen more clearly in FIG. 2, in planview the side faces 5 and 6 of the handle are generally parallel butconverge towards each other at 7 and 8 to meet the rear face 9, theedges of which are slightly rounded. When viewed in side elevation as inFIG. 3, it can be seen that the top face 10 is substantially parallel tothe bottom face 4 at the rear end of the tool, but beyond the spike 2the top face 10 curves downwardly at 11 and then again runssubstantially parallel to the bottom face 4. Finally, at the front endof the handle the top and bottom faces are inclined upwardly to form asubstantially planar upwardly inclined tee holder 3. Referring back toFIG. 2, it will be noted that the planar end section 3 contains a singlenotch or open-ended slot 14 which divides the section into twoforwardly-projecting limbs 15 and 16 which can pass on opposite sides ofthe stem of a golf tee. In addition, there is a shallow depression 17 inthe top face 10 at the root of the slot 14 to receive and locate the cupof the tee. The side faces of the handle converge slightly at 18 and 19along the length of the limbs 15 and 16, which terminate in curved ends.

[0016] Referring now to FIG. 4, the spike 2 is secured at one end of arecess 21 in the bottom face 4 of the handle 1, which runs centrally tothe rear end of the handle. The spike is pivotally mounted by means of atransverse pivot pin 22 so that when the tool is not in use the spikecan be safely stowed within the recess 21, as shown. The handle may beformed with opposed lugs 23 and 24 on opposite sides of the recess 21 toretain the spike with a snap action. In addition, the recess may beenlarged in one area, e.g. at the rear end 25 as shown, where the spikewhich can be engaged and levered out of the recess.

[0017] The rear face of the handle may further be formed with a hole 28(FIG. 3) into which the stem of a tee can be frictionally engaged toprovide a convenient place to store a tee when the tool is not in use.When required, the tee is removed by pulling the projecting cup of thetee.

[0018] In use of the tool, a tee 30 is inserted between the limbs 15 and16 and the handle 1 is grasped in the hand as shown in FIG. 5. The shapeof the handle allows the thumb to rest on the cup 31 of the tee whilethe stem 32 projects forwardly at an angle to the spike 2, whichprojects perpendicularly between the first and second fingers. The spikecan then be pressed into the ground to form a pilot hole 33, asindicated in FIGS. 7 and 8. The tool spreads the load comfortably overthe hand via the handle 1 so that considerable force can be applied tothe spike, even on very hard ground. The spike is then withdrawn fromthe ground and the tool tipped forwardly as in FIG. 8 to position thestem 32 over the hole 33. The tee is then inserted into the hole with aslight rocking action, during which the spike may be pivoted rearwardlyas in FIG. 9. Since the tee is firmly located using the thumb it can beprecisely and accurately positioned in the hole. After removing thethumb from the cup 31 the limbs 15 and 16 are withdrawn either side ofthe tee, as shown in FIG. 10 so that the tool can be withdrawn and thespike pressed fully home into the handle, FIG. 11, allowing the tool tobe quickly and safely slipped into the users pocket.

[0019] After the shot has been taken the tee can be retrieved from theground and re-inserted into the storage hole 28.

[0020] Although not shown in the drawings, there may be a hole throughthe rear end of the handle 1 to receive a loop of string, cord etc.which can be used for suspending the tool from a golf trolley forexample. The loop can also be used to hold the tool when it is not inuse. If the loop is of a sufficient size the users hand can be insertedthrough the loop as a safeguard against the tool being dropped.

[0021] It will be appreciated that the features disclosed herein may bepresent in any feasible combination. Whilst the above description laysemphasis on those areas which, in combination, are believed to be new,protection is claimed for any inventive combination of the featuresdisclosed herein.

1. A golf tee inserting tool having: a body of elongate shape which canbe held in the hand, the body having front and rear ends, a top face anda bottom face; a pair of mutually-spaced limbs, formed at the front endof the body, which are upwardly inclined away from said bottom face forreceiving a golf tee with said limbs disposed on opposite sides of astem of the tee with a cup of the tee supported by the limbs; and aspike element which can project downwardly from said bottom face formaking a hole in the ground to receive the tee.
 2. A golf tee insertingtool according to claim 1, in which the top face of the body has aconcave thumb-receiving portion adjacent to said front end of the body.3. A golf tee inserting tool according to claim 1, in which the top faceof the body has a rear portion adjacent to said rear end which isgenerally parallel to said bottom face.
 4. A golf tee inserting toolaccording to claim 1, in which a shallow depression is formed in the topface of said limbs to receive and locate the cup of the tee.
 5. A golftee inserting tool according to claim 1, in which the spike elementprojects substantially perpendicularly from the body, part-way along itslength.
 6. A golf tee inserting tool according to claim 1, in which thebody is of substantially rectangular transverse cross-section.
 7. A golftee inserting tool according to claim 1, in which the body has sidefaces which are generally parallel, converging towards each other at therear end of the handle.
 8. A golf tee inserting tool according to claim1, in which the spike element is pivotally connected to the body suchthat it can be pivoted into a recess formed in the body.
 9. A golf teeinserting tool according to claim 8, in which the recess has an enlargedportion within which the spike element can be engaged and levered out ofthe recess.
 10. A golf tee inserting tool according to claim 8, in whichthe recess has opposed lugs for retaining the spike element with a snapaction.
 11. A golf tee inserting tool according to claim 8, in which thespike element is arranged to pivot away from said limbs for insertioninto said recess.
 12. A golf tee inserting tool according to claim 1, inwhich the body has a storage compartment for storing a tee.
 13. A golftee inserting tool according to claim 12, in which the storagecompartment frictionally receives a stem of a tee with a cup of the teeprojecting from the body.